The Sky is Broken
by The Rose Garden
Summary: A short four part story about a character I dreamed up and put into a strange situation.
1. Part 1 Falling

**^ The Sky Is Broken ^ (\o/) **

** by J.C. Rose Garden / \**

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******Falling. . . . . .**

**I am falling. . . . . .**

**It is getting darker. . . . . .**

**I am falling. . . . . .**

**Falling. . . . . .******

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**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

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******Thud. **

**My body had hit the ground. **

**I ached all over, a totally new experience. This was all a totally new experience. I had never fallen before. I had never felt such a strange feeling. That feeling had so surprised me that I forgot to move my wings. Then, when I realized I was falling I was so paralyzed with fright that I stopped thinking rationally. I fell so fast it took my breath away and I could not scream. My fright soon gave me blessed oblivion. . . until I landed. **

**The matter my body now rested on was hard, O so hard. I remembered a Wise One had called it ground. I knew now why we scorn the ground. It is so hard and so dry and so hot. **

**I lifted my head to look upon this place which I had fallen to. . . and my heart was torn in two! Darkness was everywhere. The world a perpetual twilight. The surface so harsh and alien. The air so thick and heavy and hot. And all around the darkness I could feel creep into my skin and bones. I felt my body growing heavy, heavier than a storm cloud about to burst. I arose and looked at myself, and I heard a noise. It came from my mouth! I felt moisture on my face, coming out of my eyes! I learned later what these were called: wailing, crying, tears. At that moment, though I did not know what I was doing, I felt it was right. I somehow knew it was how this body mourned. I mourned the loss of my home. I mourned the loss of my people. I mourned the loss of my beautiful body. I mourned the loss of my sunshine-filled world. **

**As I cried I looked around and spotted structures nearby. Maybe people lived in them. I started moving toward them, learning how to use this new body, sometimes tripping and falling, sometimes losing my balance and falling. I kept moving though, because I needed to see someone, to hear someone say it was going to be all right. And my wailing filled the air. **

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** ^ * ^ **

******I heard the wailing and I went out with the others to see what it was. Little did I know that what I would see would change my life forever. **

**When I stepped outside many people lined the street, which was very unusual, because most people were afraid the princess's soldiers would accuse them of loitering or something. But then I spotted a soldier across the street and I was amazed to see that he was staring in the same direction as everyone else. **

**The wailing had gotten steadily louder and now that I put my full attention to it it almost broke my heart. I felt as if I was about to cry. It was a sound so sad so utterly lost and helpless. It flowed through the air almost loud enough to wake the dead. One could not be alive and not be touched. One could only have a heart of stone and remain unmoved. It was a sound that drew your attention, moved you to care, demanded your sympathy. **

**I pushed through the crowd to see what being would make such a noise. When I reached the edge of the crowd I looked into the street. **

**She was beautiful. Neither Kirin nor human, just beauty at its highest form. She had very light blue skin, wavy white hair, white splotches here and there on her body, and the brief clothing she wore was made of a white, fluffy clothe that resembled a thick mist or snow. Her feet were bare and the only other thing she wore was a stone on a cord at the base of her neck. The stone was a crystal and (as I later found out) cold as ice. **

**The girl was so wrapped up in her crying, head down and arms limp at her sides, that she did not notice the people around her. Then, as she was passing where I stood, either her thoughts or the feeling of so many stares made her look up. She glanced to the left then to the right then she fell to the ground with a wail louder than the rest and sobbed for a good ten minutes. In that brief moment when she had glanced to her right I caught a glimpse of an eye brighter than the edge of our eclipsed sun. As she sobbed I looked at the people she had looked at. They stood immobilized, staring into space. What had they seen? What had it done to them? As the girl's sobs slowly faded those people slowly looked down at her as the rest of us had done. A circle had formed around her, but no one came very close. As her sobbing slowly stopped she gave a great, weary sigh and was still. **

**After a time I moved to her side (I was a healer) and gently touched her shoulder. I quickly drew my fingers back for she almost burned me, she was SO HOT!! It felt like her skin had been on fire! I lightly touched her shoulder again. It felt as if she was slightly cooler. I felt she was cooling down. I gently turned her over. There were tear tracks on her face, white against the blue of her skin. It looked as if her tears had burned her! I tried to touch her cheek but her face was not as cool as the rest of her. I felt the heat emanating from her face. I felt the cloth she was wearing and I was so surprised! It was so smooth and soft it felt like mist. I felt the crystal that hung at her throat and it almost froze my finger tips. I brought my hand to her face again and it was slightly cooler. I used the finger tips that had touched the crystal to open an eye. What I saw was the most amazing thing in the world. Her iris, a fiery orb, slowly sunk below her bottom eyelid, like the setting sun of the Dominions. If this was any indication, a sunset was a very beautiful thing. **

**Even though her iris had set, the cornea still glowed with a blueish-white light. This girl was so fascinating, but I knew she could not stay on the road. I would take her to my house. I picked her up and was surprised to find her so light. I looked through the crowd which had begun to disperse and I saw my neighbor's daughter Della. I called her over. **

**"Would you come and help me, Della," I asked her. She looked with wide, awe-filled eyes at the girl in my arms and nodded. I led the way to my house and place the girl in one of my healing rooms. **

**"Della, please get a bucket of the coldest water you can find." **

**"Yes Qinna. Right away." She went out of the room with a purposeful stride and a determined look on her face. I smiled to myself before turning back to the girl on the bed. I braided her long wavy hair to get it out of the way. Then I examined her for cuts or bruises or any other kind of injury but I found none. **

**My examination, though, did confirm my thought of before. Her body was perfect and perfectly proportioned. If I hadn't liked the way I was I would have been jealous. I did not remove her clothes because we had not fabric to rival the softness and lightness of the stuff she was wearing. When I listened to her heart it was beating so fast that I could barely distinguish one beat from the next, but after listening for a while I distinguished a slight decrease; it was extremely small from one minute to the next. her breathing sounded rather normal for such an abnormal person. **

**When Della came back with the water I soaked three clothes and place them, one on her forehead, one on her stomach, and one at the base of her throat. **

**"That should cool her down considerably," I said to Della. "Please sit here and watch her. I need to visit a friend of mine. I need to find out if we have any info on this girl's species. If she awakens or talks in her sleep or even moves come and get me. I will be across from your uncle's house. Watch her carefully. I will be back as soon as I can." **

**As I walked to my friend's house I wondered if I would find what I needed. When I reached the house I knocked on the door and it was opened almost immediately. **

**"Hello Tochaa. May I come in?" **

**"Hello Qinna. Yes. Please come in." I heard a little surprise in his voice. **

**"I know we have not spoken in a while, but I have come because I need your help. Did you hear the wailing this morning?" **

**"Yes. I think the whole city must have heard it. It was a very unsettling sound. Do you know where it came from?" **

**"Yes. It came from a girl who is, at the moment, lying in my house, unconscious." **

**"What was so wrong with her that she would make such a sound?" **

**"I don't know, but whatever it is, or was, it had enough mercy to send her to sleep. Hopefully this rest will revive her heartbroken spirits enough so that she can tell us where she's from. Tochaa, I think you need to come see her." **

**"Why?" **

**"You will know why when you see her. Please, come." **

**He hesitated a moment before following me back to my house. When we reached the doorway to the room where the girl was lying, Tochaa stopped and stared at her. I entered the room and he followed slowly. While he took in the alien form on the bed I spoke to Della. **

**"Has she moved at all?" Della shook her head. "Made any sounds?" Again the answer, no. After a moment I continued. "When her tears touched her face I could hear the hiss. And when she cried the sound alone could make you tear your heart out. It reminded me of a windy storm wailing through the trees. Tochaa. . . where do you think she came from?" **

**"I don't know. I've never seen anyone like this. No one in the Dominions is this color, and I've never heard of anyone having eyes of fire. These white splotches on her skin are very interesting; I wonder if they're a reaction to some thing, no they cant be. They're too symmetrical. You know, I've never seen a body so perfectly proportioned. I am most certain that if she were measured in every way she would be found perfectly symmetrical. Whatever race she's from must have been created in perfection. Even these blotches are symmetrical. Very evenly placed, each one having an opposite. And her face is so young, yet there is something unimaginably old that I can't place my finger on. She is a person of mystery." **

**We stood there for a moment, gazing at the sleeping alien form. And then, something happened: she moved. She stirred, slightly, in her sleep. (Remember the word slightly throughout all of this.) Her lips moved as of she were trying to say something, but no sound came out. She took a harried breath; her lips moved again. The sound I heard was the voice of the wind. It sounded as if the wind were trying to speak, but it spoke a foreign language. It was as if she had no vocal chords and only breathed the words. But she did have vocal chords or she wouldn't have been able to cry like she did. These are the words we heard: (the underlined words are inhaled the other words exhaled) **

**Aaaah Faaaah Laaaah **

**Seeehaaaah Faaaah Laaaah **

**Naaaah Taaaah Foooohtaaaah **

**Seeehaaaah Faaaah Laaaah **

**Aaaah Faaaah Laaaah **

**After stirring slightly once more, she was still. For a few moments no one moved. Had I imagined it? Had she really said something? Or had she just been breathing? I turned to Tochaa. He had a look of incredulity on his face. He turned to me. **

**"Amazing," he said in awe. **

**After standing there a moment longer we went to sit in the outer room. **

**"What shall we do with her? Is there anything in any of your books that might give us a clue as to where she came from?" **

**"No. I've never read anywhere about anyone having eyes of fire or skin as blue as the Dominions sky. She is completely and totally alien. The strange words she spoke only confirm this fact." **

**There must be something somewhere, though, that might give us a clue to who she is and where she came from. I will go home and look through all my books. I will look everywhere I can. Send your little neighbor when the girl wakes." And with that he left. After sitting there for a moment I went back into the sick room to change the cool clothes. **

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**For the next two days I sat at the girl's side. Speaking to her and singing to her while she slept and changing the cloths when they became warm. On the third day, as I took off the cloths to replace them with fresh ones, she stirred and opened her eyes. It was almost like a dream. I watched with awe and amazement as her irises slowly rose to the centers of her eyes. They were indeed like burning flames, so bright were they. I could not look directly at them for too long for a Kirin's eyes are sensitive from having to live in twilight for so many generations. I watched, not looking at her eyes directly, as she looked around and took in her surroundings. When she looked at me I saw her eyes had dimmed as if a storm were coming and clouds were covering the sun. As she looked at me she started to cry again. **

**"Please don't cry. I'm a friend. Don't worry. You are safe here." **

**She had been crying silently, but when she heard my voice she stopped for a moment, a surprised look on her face. Then she cried out and the sound was of the wind wailing. She lay back down and cried herself to sleep again. When I was certain that she would not wake I left the room, told Della to watch the girl, and went to bring Tochaa back. **


	2. Part 2 Waking

***an: Sorry this took so long to get out. I recently got a job and I am also taking a college course so I haven't gotten to do much writing. I'll try to get the third part out somewhat faster. **

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**^ ****The Sky Is Broken**** ^ ****Part 2 **

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******Where am I ? **

**What is this place ? **

**What has happened to me ? **

**What is this place ? **

**Where am I ? **

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******~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

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******These were my thoughts as I awoke. Many others were swirling in my head like a hurricane at its deadliest, but these were the ones that kept coming to the front of my mind. **

**I was inside some sort of structure. A very small one. The top was only a tail or two away and the sides were only a little farther. At least there were no sharp sides. The thing I was lying on was very hard; not at all like the clouds I was used to sleeping on. And this whole place, where I was, was so dark; hardly any color, hardly anything cheerful. I started to cry. I missed my sunny, airy world. Even the creature who watched over me was dark and sad. She looked as if she hadn't smiled in a long time. Then she spoke. The words were so alien yet I somehow understood them. I cried out to the Creator, "Whyyyyyy?!?!" I cried my self to sleep again and the Creator spoke to me. He told me I was needed here to help these creatures. He told me not to worry; I would find a way home. I felt much better after this. And when I woke I was ready to talk to the creature that had been watching me. **

**When I opened my eyes she was in the same place, but this time there was a male with her. Since I was not sure of their language yet I would not wind with them. Connecting would be much easier and much faster. I only wondered if their minds had developed enough to connect. Well, I would find out. **

**Hello. Can you hear me? The two creatures looked at each other for a moment, a startled and puzzled look on their faces. I could hear them asking themselves if they had heard me, but it seemed as if they couldn't hear each other. **

**Can you not hear each other? Can you only wind to one another? **

**What does she mean by wind? I heard the female ask herself. **

**She could mean speak the male thought. **

**Yes. That is what I mean. Can you only speak to one another? Are you not able to Connect? **

**After being surprised, for a moment, that I could hear them, the male said, No. We can not hear one another's thoughts. How can you hear ours? **

**Your thoughts are loud. I do not know how you do not hear each other's. You are almost shouting. Please try to think quieter. **

**Sorry. came two quieter thoughts. **

**That is all right. You are still young. You will learn; I will teach you if you wish. **

**Yes. That would be wonderful. said the male. **

**By the way said the female, My name is Qinna and he is Tochaa. What is your name? So as not to talk over each other one would lean forward when talking and they would gesture so as to try and include the other person in the conversation.**

**Oh! Forgive my manners. I am Cumula, daughter of Strat and Cirra. May your wings never falter and you never fear to fall... but... I fell My face contorted with the horrific memory. I fell so far. I fell out of my home. How will I ever get back home? I looked at the two before me. Do you know the way home? Do you know why my body changed? Do you know what happened to me? **

**"Whoa. Slow down a minute," the male Tochaa said. "First, I think it would be better if we all spoke out loud. And second, I'm sorry, but we don't know anything about you. We have never seen your kind before. If you tell us everything we might be able to figure something out." **

**"Mmmmaaaa nnaaaasseeeehh ffee... Oh. I'm sorry. I forgot that you speak differently. I shall try again. **

**"Yes. Try to say hello," said Qinna. **

**"Hello? What does hello mean," I asked. **

**"It is our greeting," she explained. "Now, can you tell us what happened?" **

**"I was flying to meet my sister at Cloud Nine (that's a place where we rest and eat) when all of a sudden I felt this wave of something. It felt so entirely strange that I was in shock for a moment. Also the force of the wave knocked the breath out of me. So my wings stopped. And I fell. When I realized I was falling I panicked. My tail started to go numb and I couldn't feel my wings at all. Then the streamers on my arms went numb and the ones down my back, then my arms. I was so scared I couldn't breath right, then my head went numb and I fell unconscious. I could not see anything before I went unconscious; it was like a void. The change in temperature brought me back to consciousness a minute or two before my body hit the ground. When I looked at my surroundings all I could see was darkness and sadness. This land is so sad; I don't know how you live here. Anyway, I saw these structures and came here. The rest you know." **

** ^ * ^ **

******Amazing. This girl was simply amazing. While she was talking about her fall her eyes clouded over so we could look at her more directly. Her skin also seemed more dull. The cloud splotches and the rest of her skin almost blended together in a slight grayish tint. **

**"How old are you," I asked her. **

**"I don't know how to say it in your language. I am many millions of passings of the sun. We measure time in twos. The rising and setting of the sun is a day. Every 200 days is a sen. Every 200 sen is a span. Every 200 span is a cirren. I am 4 cirren old. Do you have day as a measurement?" **

**"Yes, but we do not measure it by our sun because it does not move," said Tochaa. **

**"Do you mean you must always see that... that thing in the sky? You have no reprieve from that saddening eye sore in that wrong sky? No wonder you are such odd colors and your eyes are so pale. But we will not talk of that right now. I told you I am 4 cirren old; that is 32 million days. Actually my birthday was yesterday so 32 million and one." **

**"Actually, this is the third day after your fall so 32 million and 4," I told her. She was quiet for a moment, drawn into herself. **

**"I hope the Creator has told my parents where I am," she finally said. "I hope they do not worry about me. This has never happened in all the history of my people that I can remember. It could have happened before and maybe that's where our greeting came from, but it must have been many suns ago. (A sun is 200 cirren.) When I return I shall have to ask the Elders." She sounded so confident that she would go home. I hoped she wouldn't be disappointed. **

**We talked for a few minutes longer until I suggested we eat lunch. **

**"I am very hungry," said Cumula. "What do you eat here?" **

**"We eat many things. I think it will be easier if we know what you eat," I answered. **

**"We do not have a wide variety of sustenances. We eat dew drops and sweet cumulus and when the nimbus comes we have lightning. Sprinkle it with some rain and it's nice and tangy. We drink sunbeams and moon beams and if we ever go low enough there are the stratus pools. We swim in them too. On special occasions we get to eat shooting stars. Ohhh, those are soooo good. It's like a little puff of sweet, toasted on the outside and creamy on the inside. Soooo good." **

**"I'm afraid we don't have much to offer you then. We don't have sunbeams or moonbeams, but we do have water. We don't have dew drops or cumulus or lightning, but we do have bread and fruit and meat. You can try some things and if you don't like them then we'll find something you do like. Don't worry we'll find something you like." **

**I went into the kitchen and put together a plate with a little bit of everything. I then brought it to her and she tasted everything, making sounds of pleasure and wonder at tasting new flavors and textures. She ate everything I gave her and asked for more of the same saying that she liked everything that had been on the plate. I told her we would wait a little while to see if everything agreed with her because we did not know how much like us she was. I was very surprised that she was sitting up and eating so soon after such a deeply traumatizing experience. It gave me hope that she would soon be walking around. Maybe she would even be able to show us where she fell. We might just be able to figure this problem out. **


End file.
